Sometimes I hate my brain. Like . . . when I’m trying to fall asleep and it just won’t shut down. And then I’m finally on the cusp of sleep and this SNI (shiny new idea) pops into my head and it won’t leave me alone until I grab the notebook and pen that I wisely keep at my bedside and write it down.
Like one night last week. Just as I’m about to fall asleep, this line pops into my head. A woman’s voice asks, “So, are you a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster too?” And just like that an idea for a story followed. Just what I need, another idea. At least it’s for a short story.
I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me. I’d say it’s maybe because once you star winding down it sets your subconscious loose, but according to studies, you subconscious mind is most active when you first wake up. You’ve probably heard that if you don’t remember your dreams within the first minute or two of waking you won’t remember them at all, this is why.
Maybe I’m just an exception to the rule. All I know is, I’ve learned the value of keeping a notebook handy when I go to bed. Trust me, no matter how brilliant the idea you have while you’re drifting off, the best you can hope for if you don’t write it down is a vague recollection in the morning.
And remember how a couple of weeks ago I posted the beginning of my first (as yet unfinished) NaNo novel? Well now I keep getting ideas for it, too. And I mean good ideas. I have to keep fighting the urge to pull it out of mothballs and have at it again.
I have six or eight different versions of it on the go, but I keep thinking I could take what I’ve learned over the past 12 or 14 years and start it from scratch, making it into the novel it was meant to be.
But no, I’m supposed to be working on Knightsong. Never mind that I only have a vague notion of where it’s going, it’s the one I’m going to take with me to the writing retreat. I need to focus on getting this one finished first.
Shouldn’t I?
On the other hand, if Driving Into Forever is what my mind is set on, maybe I should just roll with it before my mind says, “Fine, if you’re not going to listen to me, let’s just stick to reading.” Knightsong is uncharted territory for me. Driving Into Forever is better thought out. AND I have a sequel to it waiting for the first book to be done, plus ideas for two more.
*sigh*
Sometimes I really hate the way my brain works.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Wordage Report
New Words:
Blog Posts – 672+369+362+486=1,889
Total = 1889
I’m down about 1,400 words from last week’s total which is especially disappointing because the only words I wrote were on blog posts – no fictional words at all. I may have added a few words to Blood Ties whilst editing, but not enough to take note of and they were probably balanced by the number I deleted.
Editing:
6 hours on Blood Ties. Looks like I’m picking up speed. About time, isn’t it?
Publishing:
None. And I still haven’t heard back about the last story I sent out.
What I’m Reading:
Once again, this is where most of my time went. And I fully admit that it involved a couple of late nights where I read until my eyes burned.
I finished the Chosen. by J.R. Ward and went on to read Blood Fury, the Thief, Prisoner of Night and the Savior. Now I’m currently reading Blood Truth. I really have to slow down (and you can see how that went last week) because I only have three books to go before I have to wait for the one still on order to be delivered, then there’s only one left until I’m done. The next one comes out in April, but sorry/not sorry I’m not buying it in hardback, I’ll wait until it’s available in paperback, thankyouverymuch. And if I can’t extract myself from the BDB universe while I wait, I might just have to go back and start the series from book one again.
Goals
Last week’s goals were again pretty much a bust. No words on anything except blog posts, no outlining, no organizing. I did get some editing done on Blood Ties at least, so there’s that.
My goal for this week is to stop messing around and get myself back on track. Sooner or later I’m going to be out of books to read and then where will I be? So. On that note, I want to:
1. Spend more time in my office and less on the couch.
2. Keep up the edits on Blood Ties.
3. Limit my reading time.
Baby steps perhaps, but hopefully steps in the right direction
No comments:
Post a Comment